Betteleiche

We recommend a hike from the jungle life camp in Lauterbach.

Well-developed refuge, ideal for a rest

The Betteleiche gave the same name circular walk the name. It is a landmark in the region.

The bed oak is an old pedunculate oak estimated at 600 to 800 years in the Hainich at the intersection of the Rennsteig and Hohen Strasse. The oak, which is protected as a natural monument, is one of the oldest and most striking trees in Hainich and is a well-known landmark of the Hainich National Park. (Wikipedia)

Here you can dream. What has this great tree already experienced? !!!?

Begging oak
It should be a thousand years old - the begging corpse. The following legend has been passed down from the Middle Ages: During this time, the Ihlefeld was a religious place. Begging monks had settled in the "Eilfelden" hermitage and offered their services, such as reading mass and nursing the sick, in the surrounding villages. People made a pilgrimage to the Ihlefeld to get spiritual support.
True to their vows, the monks were not allowed to own any property, but were dependent on the mild gifts that the people offered them at the foot of a stately oak tree. To protect the gifts from storms, the monks made a box-shaped recess in the trunk of the tree. Weathering and growth continued to work as sculptors over the centuries and gave the beggar oak its impressive shape today.
Their bizarre appearance and their old age make them one of the Hainich's landmarks. But she doesn't live forever either. One day it will fall over and, as dead wood, be home for other living beings - let nature be nature.
(Source: information board on site)

It should be 1000 years old, many legends surround it 🌳

A very nice rest area near the Betteleiche.

Historically and botanically interesting.

Truly one of the landmarks of the Hainich

Past the 1000-year-old oak to the refuge